Dan Cyrulik Says When Gampel Opened, The Noise Blew Him Away

When Gampel opened 25 years ago, Cyrulik says the UConn crowd was deafening

STORRS – A quarter of a century later, the details have faded, but two things about UConn's Dream Season still stand out for Dan Cyrulik – the noise and the cohesiveness.

"We were really like brothers," said Cyrulik, 44, who returned to Gampel Pavilion Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of its opening. "We were so close. It's something unique. We gelled on the court that year, we kind of came together, after rough start, and we came into our own."

Cyrulik and other members of the 1989-90 Huskies gathered for a reception before the UConn-Memphis game, and were recognized at halftime. Cyrulik was joined by Chris Smith, Murray Williams, Oliver Macklin, John Gwynn and coaches Jim Calhoun and Howie Dickenman from the 1989-90 team.

One of the reasons Cyrulik, from Buffalo, had chosen UConn was the new campus arena that was going up in the late 1980s. "The year or year-and-a-half it took seemed a lot longer," he said. "We wanted to be in there."

The wait ended on Jan. 27, 1990, and the Huskies, who had lost at St. John's by 31 points a few weeks before, beat St. John's by 15 that night. Cyrulik, who had lost his starting frontcourt position earlier in the season, came off the bench to get 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Boatright Senior Night

Ryan Boatright was honored on senior night, his last game played at Gampel Pavilion Thursday night.

Ryan Boatright was honored on senior night, his last game played at Gampel Pavilion Thursday night.

"Coach [Jim] Calhoun was soft and subtle in reminding us how poorly we'd played at St. John's," Cyrulik said, joking, of course. "And that was the stepping stone for the revenge match."

And when the Huskies walked into the new building, which was full, the sound was something new and different.

"It was night and day from the Field House," Cyrulik said. "And from the XL Center as well. Just the way the fans are so close to the court, especially the students here, made it a whole different environment. The crowd is right on you, you hear it all the time, there is something unique about the way it is here."

The last shot of the game, Ryan Boatright's bid for a game-winner on Senior Night, typified UConn's futility in the 54-53 loss to Memphis, before...

STORRS – All the good will and credibility the Huskies built up this week disappeared in a hail of missed shots, some easy, most hard and ill-advised.

The last shot of the game, Ryan Boatright's bid for a game-winner on Senior Night, typified UConn's futility in the 54-53 loss to Memphis, before...

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From there, the Huskies were on their way to the Big East title and the NCAA Elite Eight, the season that put the program on the national map. Cyrulik, who went into the banking industry, stayed in Connecticut for several years but has moved back to the Buffalo area to be near family. "It was amazing, how we were embraced here," Cyrulik said. "My wife had never seen anything like it. This really became my second home."

Nichols Out

Memphis' top player, Austin Nichols, did not make the trip to Connecticut. He missed two weeks earlier in the season with an ankle injury, but came back to play against UConn and scored 16 points in the Tigers' victory in Memphis. Now the injury has worsened and it's likely he is done for the season, unless Memphis somehow makes the NCAA Tournament without him. … Ryan Boatright's mother, Tanesha, was one of the first fans to enter Gampel Pavilion on Thursday and was taking pictures with everyone in sight. She said she will continue to come to games after her son graduates. "I'm a Husky for life," she said. "We're family here." … Scouts from the Bucks, Thunder, Raptors, Celtics and Spurs reserved seats to watch the game. NBA teams are becoming more interested in Daniel Hamilton and Amida Brimah and beginning to compile information in case either decides to enter the draft after this season. … The most likely scenario for the AAC Tournament has the Huskies playing in the No.4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal game, and their most likely opponent would be Temple. So UConn would play Temple two games in a row, beginning with the regular season finale in Philadelphia on Saturday. … Freshman Rakim Lubin missed his third game in a row, as he is recovering from a concussion.